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Posts published in “Essays”

Diary Of A Numb 49er Fan

It’s Friday afternoon. An unseasonal sun bakes the city with a gratifying if alarming tropical malaise. Tiny birds sing in the trees. There’s a case of frozen corn dogs in the freezer and half a…

The Pioneering Black Porters

It's Black History Month, a good time to honor the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, one of the most important yet too often overlooked leaders in the long struggle for racial equality and union rights.…

Reggae Fest Gets Go-Ahead

An appeal of the Reggae on the River festival’s county permit was denied by a majority of the Board of Supervisors but traffic flow conditions at the event’s main entrance remain a concern. Capping a…

Continental Drift

In the fall of 1970, my family — version 3.0 — was winging its way to Europe. To explain the “upgrade,” which it was in no wise at all, I'll take a stab at revisiting…

Muse Rides Again

From the age of twenty-one until I was fifty, with only a few brief respites, I wrote many novels, most of them never published.

The Perils Of Cycling In Rabies Country

I left my baggage at a hostel in central Cuenca and rode east, on a small quiet highway that climbed into the beautiful green hills and would eventually lead over a small mountain range and…

Online Dating: What Do Women Want?

Am I admitting this? Yes, I guess so. I've been married (using the term loosely) twice, have four grown kids and four grandchildren. Not a particularly lonely guy and certainly not a crusty bachelor of…

Realigning HumCo

Midway into its second year, the county’s prison/jail realignment program has increased rehabilitation assistance but law enforcement officials have said it’s also led to increases in crime. So far the evidence is anecdotal. City and…

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